We become de-sensitized a little bit at a time. Some years ago, I walked into
my office after a Sunday morning service to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing
three chocolate brownies. Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love
for chocolate had placed them there, along with a piece of paper that had a short
story written on it. I immediately sat down and began eating the first brownie
as I read the following story.

Two teenagers asked their father if they could go to the theater to watch a
movie that all their friends had seen. After reading some reviews about the
movie on the Internet, he denied their request.

Dad replied: "Because
that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality as being normal and acceptable
behavior." "But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie!
That's what our friends who've seen it have told us. The movie is two hours
long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film! It's based on
a true story and good triumphs over evil, and there are other redeeming themes
like courage and self-sacrifice. Even the movie review websites say that!"

"My answer is 'no,'
and that is my final answer. You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some
of your friends over, and watch one of the good videos we have in our home collection.
But you will not go and watch that film. End of discussion."

The two teenagers walked
dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch. As they sulked,
they were surprised to hear the sounds of their father preparing something in
the kitchen. They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in
the oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other, "Dad must be feeling
guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies.
Maybe we can soften him with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and
persuade him to let us go to that movie after all."

About that time I began
eating the second brownie from the sandwich bag and
wondered if there was some connection to the brownies I was eating and the brownies
in the story. I kept reading.

The teens were not disappointed.
Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm brownies, which he offered to
his kids. They each took one. Then their father said, "Before you eat,
I want to tell you something: "I love you both so much." The teenagers
smiled at each other with knowing glances. Dad was softening. "That is
why I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients. I've made them
from scratch. Most of the ingredients are even organic; the best organic flour,
the best free-range eggs, the best organic sugar, premium vanilla and chocolate."
The brownies looked mouth-watering, and the teens began to become a little impatient
with their dad's long speech.

"But I want to be perfectly
honest with you. There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in
brownies. I got that ingredient from our own back yard. But you needn't worry,
because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies. The
amount of the portion is practically insignificant. So go ahead, take a bite
and let me know what you think.

"Dad, would you mind
telling us what that mystery ingredient is before we eat?" "Why? The
portion I added was so small. Just a teaspoonful. You won't even taste it."
"Come on, dad; just tell us what that ingredient is." "Don't
worry! It is organic, just like the other ingredients." "Dad!!!"
"Well, OK, if you insist. That secret ingredient is organic...dog poop."

I immediately stopped chewing
that second brownie and I spit it out into the waste basket by my desk. I continued
reading, now fearful of the paragraphs that still remained.

Both teens instantly dropped
their brownies back on the plate and began inspecting their fingers with horror.

"DAD! Why did you do
that? You've tortured us by making us smell those brownies cooking for the last
half hour, and now you tell us that you added dog poop! We can't eat these brownies!"

"Why not? The amount
of dog poop is very small compared to the rest of the ingredients. It won't
hurt you. It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients. You won't
even taste it. It has the same consistency as the brownies. Go ahead and eat!"

"No, Dad...NEVER!"

"And that is the same
reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie. You won't tolerate a little
dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in
your movies? We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we
in good conscience entertain ourselves with something that will imprint a sinful
image in our minds that will lead us into temptation long after we first see
it?"

I discarded what remained
of the second brownie, as well as the entire untouched third brownie. What had
been irresistible a minute ago had become detestable. And only because of the
very slim chance that what I was eating was slightly polluted. (Surely it wasn't...
but I couldn't convince myself.)

What a good lesson about
purity! Why do we tolerate any sin? On the day of the Passover, the Israelites
were commanded to remove every bit of leaven from their homes. Sin is like leaven
- a little bit leavens the whole lump. (I Corinthians 5:6)